The Need for Theory
Critical Approaches to Social Gerontology
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Book Description
The "Need for Theory" speaks to the burgeoning need for critical thinking in social gerontology. The editors have brought together some of the foremost contributors to theoretical advances in the field. This volume incorporates state-of-the-art theorizing with a focus on selected topical areas facing gerontologists around the world. Using their keen insights into substantive issues, the contributors examine personal and structural changes affecting individuals over the life course. Extolling the need for theory is not enough; the contributors focus their insights on a panoply of substantive issues, linking the personal with the political and with the structural parameters that shape the process of aging, no matter where it occurs.
Table of Contents
The Need for Theory in Gerontology Simon Biggs, Jon Hendricks, and Ariela Lowenstein
SECTION ONE Theorizing Gerontology
Chapter 1 Critical Gerontological Theory: Intellectual Fieldwork and the Nomadic Life of Ideas Steven Katz
Chapter 2 The Perils and Possibilities of Theory Ruth E. Ray
Chapter 3 The Legacy of Social Constructionism for Social Gerontology Hans-Joachim von Kondratowitz
Chapter 4 Structure and Identity—Mind the Gap: Toward a Personal Resource Model of Successful Aging Jon Hendricks
SECTION TWO Theorizing Micro Relations
Chapter 5 Sense and Structure: Toward a Sociology of Old Bodies Emmanuelle Tulle
Chapter 6 Contemporary Later-Life Family Transitions: Revisiting Theoretical Perspectives on Aging and the Family— Toward a Family Identity Framework Ariela Lowenstein
Chapter 7 The Aging Paradox: Toward Personal Meaning in Gerontological Theory Gerben J. Westerhof, Freya Dittmann-Kohli, and Christina Bode
Chapter 8 Negotiating Aging Identity: Surface, Depth, and Masquerade Simon Biggs
SECTION THREE Theorizing Macro Relations chapter 9 Globalization and the Reconstruction of Old Age: New Challenges for Critical Gerontology Chris Phillipson
Chapter 10 Theoretical Approaches to Problems of Families, Aging, and Social Support in the Context of Modernization Merril Silverstein, Vern L. Bengtson, and Eugene Litwak
Chapter 11 Theorizing Age Relations Toni Calasanti
Chapter 12 Theoretical Perspectives on Old Age Policy: A Critique and a Proposal Carroll L. Estes
CONCLUSION
Where is Theory Headed? Simon Biggs, Jon Hendricks, and Ariela Lowenstein
Contributors
Index
Author(s)
Biography
Simon Biggs (Author) , Jon Hendricks (Author) , Ariela Lowenstein (Author)